Coffin-fastener



'(No Model.) -O. H. DUELL 81; E. LAASS.

OOFFIN FASTENER. No. 377,355. Patented Jan. 31,1888.

ilN TEn STATES CHARLES H. DUELL AND EMIL LAASS,

PATENT FFICE OF SYRACUSE, ASSIGNORS TO CHAP- COFFlN-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.

Application filed October 8, 1887.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that W6,0HARLESH. DUELL and EMIL LAASS, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Lid- Fasteners for Burial-Caskets, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to the class of casketlid fasteners which are designed to be concealed, and which interlock by sliding the lid eudwise on the casket.

The invention consists, chiefly, of a horizontally elongated plate provided with a wedge-shaped undercut groove and countersunk in the top edge of the casket, and a horizontally-elongated tongue-plate wed ge-shaped to correspond to the aforesaid groove and of about half the length of the groove, and having undercut side edges interlocking with the edges of the groove. Said tongue-plate being attached flatwise to the under side of the lid obviates undue projections on the same, and the grooved plate,having its groove only part way the depth thereof, is thus materially strengthened, and by extending the wide end of the groove through the end of the plate the latter can be easily east without the employment of a core.

The invention also consists in the combination, with the aforesaid interlocking plates, of a latch which positively engages the two plates and serves to confine the same in their interlocked position, all as hereinafter more fully described, and specifically set forth in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a section of the casket-body provided with our improvedlidfastener. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of that portion of the lid to which the tongueplate is attached; and Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on lines :0 m in Figs. 1 and 2, showing the lid-fastener interlocked.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A represents a horizontally-elongated metal plate, which is countersunk in the top of the side wall of the casket so as to be flush therewith, and is formed with a longitudinal groove,

377,355, dated January 31,18E8.

Serial No. 251,852. (No model.)

a, which is wedge-shaped or tapered from end to end and dovetailed or undercut 011 its sides and intersected by a transverse groove, 0, extending through oneside of the plate at or near the center of the length thereof. Said grooves extending only part way the depth of the plate leaves the same intact and strengthens the same.

B denotes a metallic plate of the form of a wedge-shaped tongue of the size of the small end of the groove a and tapered and undercut correspondingly, said plate being secured flatwise to the under side of the lid, and in such a position that when the lid is in proper closed position on the casket the tongue B coincides with the small end portion ofthe groove a and lies with its heel just clear from the transverse groove 0.

To the side of the casket isseeuredaspring latch, Z, which has alateral projection extending through the groove 0 and engaging the heel of the tongue B when introduced into the small end of the groove a, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

\Ve do not limit ourselves to the particular form of the latch herein shown. as the same admits of many modifications. The essential feature of the latch is its positive engagement with the two plates A and B. The tongue B may be cast on a wider plate, which is to be countersunk in the under side of the lid and affords a better bearing on the lid.

In practice we prefer to use two sets of plates, A and B, on each side of the casket. To attach the lid to the casket, the former is to be placed flatwise on the latter, and in such a position as to allow the tongue B to drop fiatwise into the large ends of the grooves 11 a of the plates A A, which are made longer than the tongues for that purpose. Then by sliding the lid endwise the tongues are forcedinto the small ends of the aforesaid grooves, and when they are firmly wedged therein the latches Z Z spring into the grooves a a and engage the heels of the tongue-plates, so as to confine said plates in their position. The side of the latch facing toward the large end of the groove a is beveled, so as to cause the same to be crowded laterally out of the groove a by the tongue sliding toward the small end of the groove.

ICC

It is obvious that only one set of plates A on each side of the casket requires the latch Z. In removing the lid from the casket the operator presses the latches outward, and thenby drawing the lid endwise, so as to bring the tongues B B into the large ends of the grooves a a, the lid can be lifted from the casket.

It is obvious that the plates A and B may be arranged reverse-i. a, the grooved plate may be secured to the'under side of the lid and the tongue-plate attached to the top of the casketbody. 2

What we claim as new is l. The eombinatiomwith the casket and lid, of the wedge-shaped tongue-plate B, having undercut longitudinal edges and secured to the lid, and the plate A, countersunk in the top edge of the casket, and' of greater length than the tongue-plate and provided with the wedge shaped undercut groove a, the wide end of said groove being adapted to receive the tongue-plateflatwise through the face of the plate A, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the casket and its i drawal of the tongueplate from the groove, as

set forth.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names, in the presence of two witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga,

in theState of New York, this 1st day ofOcto' ber, 1887.

CHARLES H. DUELL. [1 s.] EMIL LAASS. [L. s] I 'Witnesses:

H. P. DENISON, O. L. BENDIXON; 

